DD went down very well at WildPhotos over the weekend: the terrestrial wildlife photographers were very impressed!

There was a lot of discussion about ethics in natural history photography, some of it applicable to underwater photography. I've written an article about the meeting and asked UwP if it's suitable to put in a future edition. If Peter Rowlands doesn't want it, I can put it on Wetpixel, I guess.

It was quite a spectacle. Leandro Blanco and Michael AW were superb and David Doublet's images were simply mind blowing. It ran on a bit late and it was a shame to see some people having to leave to get their trains while David was still speaking. We hung on till the end and just managed to get the last train home out of London, but you could have stayed there for hours more if you had the time!

It was quite a spectacle. Leandro Blanco and Michael AW were superb and David Doublet's images were simply mind blowing. It ran on a bit late and it was a shame to see some people having to leave to get their trains while David was still speaking. We hung on till the end and just managed to get the last train home out of London, but you could have stayed there for hours more if you had the time!

I was there, and Michael and David were spectacular. The passion they have for UW photography is something else. David was very forthcoming with information on techniques and procedures, and the conservation efforts Michael is achieving are excellent.

However, I wasn't overly fussed about what Leandro showed us. I don't do video, and have no idea what goes into one, but for someone that has won so many awards, I wasn't expecting to see very short clips that all seemed a little disjointed from each other. The clips just didn't seem that special.His psychedelic "Dalirium" was his best piece, not in terms of content, it's just the editing was amazing.Sorry if that upsets people, but I couldn't see what all the fuss was about when it came to his videos.

I enjoyed the evening. It was very light hearted, fun and well presented. Obviously the star of the show was a real pleasure to listen to. Allowing the 200 or so people into his life for an hour. Telling how he started out all those years ago. Showing what images he was producing out of the dark room. I could have sat and listened to him for hours. Looking at his controversial shots of the nudibranches on his ligtbox on a big screen was pretty cool. I loved those shots when they first appeared and still love them. The guy is a true pro and has a solid partner Jennifer who is obviously a very big part of his working life as well as his personal life. Looking at some of his old BW shots that he had taken, getting little bits of information from him that hopefully I can take with me next time I am looking through my viewfinder. He would show an image and then explain why it was technically correct. Explaining how he would use the natural light for certain things, strobe lighting for other things.

Michael AW has a very good sense of humour and I am sure that anyone who has spent time with him on a liveaboard or at a dive resort has many tales to tell about him. He didnt really uncover any shots that havent been seen before though, which I was a little disappointed with. I was really hoping he would have a few trump cards up his sleeve but that wasnt the case. But he was a good speaker, is doing an enormous amount of work and making people aware of the problems that our oceans are having due to human ignorance, and for that he deserves all the respect in the world.

Leandro Blanco has obviously been at the top of the tree in his field for a fair few years and as Londonsean has said, showed a 5 minute showreel titled Dalirium, which IMHO was a piece of class. I dont know if he has made it available on youtube but watching it on a big screen was pretty special. I have played around with video editing programs and what he did in this piece was pretty spectacular.

However, I wasn't overly fussed about what Leandro showed us. I don't do video, and have no idea what goes into one, but for someone that has won so many awards, I wasn't expecting to see very short clips that all seemed a little disjointed from each other. The clips just didn't seem that special.His psychedelic "Dalirium" was his best piece, not in terms of content, it's just the editing was amazing.Sorry if that upsets people, but I couldn't see what all the fuss was about when it came to his videos.

Sean

For the love of god Sean!!!... Don't make the mistake i have and criticise any 'well known' persons work. You will be frowned upon, receive back handed insults (especially about the equipment you use) and ignored by many ... However by the look of it your also a Brit so it will just wash off, so crack on me old son its just an opinion after all. :-)

However, I wasn't overly fussed about what Leandro showed us. I don't do video, and have no idea what goes into one, but for someone that has won so many awards, I wasn't expecting to see very short clips that all seemed a little disjointed from each other. The clips just didn't seem that special. His psychedelic "Dalirium" was his best piece, not in terms of content, it's just the editing was amazing. Sorry if that upsets people, but I couldn't see what all the fuss was about when it came to his videos.

Sean

Hiya Sean

With regard to Leandro's presentation then for me the only thing that detracted from it was the AV system which worked ok for slides/photos, but it was pretty poor for video (especially the audio). I mean Clownstruck in particular is about the best 5min underwater video you could ever watch! But hey we all have our own particular tastes, so I don't think you are going to upset anyone